Staying happy is an everyday decision. Let these 7 tips help you make that everyday decision.

If you were asked to name some things that make you happy, I am sure you will be able to come up with some good answers, it is easy to know what can make you happy but position yourself to enjoy the full benefits of living a happy life will take more than just knowing what can make you happy.

Creating an environment that will encourage you to feel happy at all times will not necessarily take a huge effort. We have listed out simple steps that you can adopt to make yourself happy at all times.

1) Acknowledge only the good things around you at every moment.

Starting out by being grateful for the little things that other people might not have the luxury of is the first step to being happy. You should be grateful for having a shelter and being able to wake up every morning to have the kind of breakfast you want. Many people out there do not have the luxury to make these choices.

Always look out for the good in every situation, we live in a time when we cannot entirely avoid negativity, it is all over the social media and the news, but you can control what you get exposed to. Never let the negative trends discourage you from trying to be happy at all times.

In the end, it is very simple things we could effortlessly do that determine how happy we become.

2) Engage in actions that ensure a long-term benefit.

The problem with always seeking short-term benefits is that in a short while you will need to get something else to make you happy, this is a common experience for people who seek gratification from acquiring minor material things.

One common mistake people make is taking jobs they know they will never be happy doing; this is like consciously signing an agreement to be permanently upset every day. A good way to remain happy is to love what you do for a living, so you should consider making better career choices.
If you are looking for ways to be happy, identify your gifts and find ways to use these gifts to help other people around you.

When you can realize the ways your existence on earth can be used to make other people happy, you will appreciate yourself even more despite all your imperfections.

3) Concentrate on only what is important to you.

You’ve been blessed with all you need to live a happy life, look within and find these blessings.
Many people experience frustrations because they have not clearly identified what they want in their lives. If you fall into this category, you are in luck because there are easy steps to overcome this success barrier. The first step is to think carefully about your life and make up your mind on what you want to become. You can proceed by making a list of these things and attempting to draw out a map that will lead you to achieve them.
Remember when you were little and you wanted a particular toy? This was all you thought about all day and night frequently asking your parents when you can get it until they finally bought it for you. This is the measure of dedicated focus you need to apply in achieving your goals. Don’t get distracted by the things you do not have instead, focus on getting the things you can get by following your plan.I should state here that your plan should be realistic and achievable too, all you should do is believe it can happen and the more confident you get in achieving this goal, the easier it will be for you to make it happen.

4) Learn to put yourself first.

Contrary to what you might have previously thought, you will end up feeling worse if you always put the needs of other people before yours.
Sadly, there are a lot of selfish people out there who will use every opportunity to take from you once they find out that you never say no. Think back to the many times you have had to do things for people at your inconvenience. You will realize these people only reach out to you when they need something. This is unfair; you should learn to put yourself first.
Don’t fall victim of wasting your time to suit the needs of other people who don’t really care how you feel, you should learn to say no. This is a common situation almost everyone has had to face, and the truth is you will feel better when you say no, be brief and polite about it, and you will be surprised that the other person will understand because they know what they have asked for is actually unfair to you.

Start practicing this today, and you will feel better, don’t ever feel guilty after refusing an unfair request, you have just created more time to focus on achieving your own goals.

5) Locate role models who have achieved similar goals and become friends with them.
Knowing what other people have gone through will help you to make better plans.
In life, we practically have no influence over the family we are born into or who we work with at the office. What we can control is how much interaction we have with people who turn out to be malicious and bitter towards others. The best kind of company is people who think like you, they are ambitious and always seek ways to improve themselves and others around them. You will benefit from these people because there will be similarities in your thoughts and beliefs which is lifting up others and helping out ONLY when you can afford it. When you notice people, who behave in ways you admire, learn from them by observing how they handle issues, become friends with them too. It is also important that you should never try to be like other people, what you should focus on is learning from them and applying these skills in your own special and unique way.

Trying to become another version of a person will only be frustrating, so avoid it.

6) Learn from your mistakes and unfortunate experiences
I am yet to see a person who can boldly declare they have lived perfect lives with no mistakes, we are human and we all make mistakes. Don’t feel too bad when you are faced with adversity because it cannot be totally avoided as you forge ahead in life, what you should do is face them boldly and learn from the experience. You should also know that every situation becomes exactly the name you give it, only you can tag and experience as unfortunate or bad.
There are many possibilities that those rejections and disappointments can be a blessing in disguise. We have constantly heard of people who were previously turned down after attempts to secure jobs or contracts they thought would be great for them only for them to get even better opportunities that would have been lost if their earlier attempts had been successful.

This means you should never take rejection or adversity personally, instead believe only the best things can happen to you and keep looking ahead for what is better.

7) Always strive to give your very best only within your limits

Believing in you means forging ahead even when the means to make it has not been clearly defined. You should have faith in your abilities, and when the time comes to prove yourself, the results will be absolutely excellent.
It is difficult to achieve happiness and success when you lay back, waiting for the perfect moment to act. There might never be a perfect moment, or it might come after you have wasted so much valuable time. It is the gradual and uncertain moves made in faith that will get you where you need to be.
The media and many other platforms have made us believe that imperfection should not be embraced, the level of perfection that is painted through these mediums can be a source of depression for people whose self-esteem get challenged by the perfect looking models seen on TV or the stories of people who became wealthy many years ago. You are distinctively who you are- unique and special people because of those imperfections that make you stand out. Doing something in a different way creates an opportunity for you to define your unique style. There are countless stories of how imperfections have been turned to assets, means through which the lives of the people changed. Dare to explore your uniqueness, never feel less confident because you don’t measure up to the seemingly perfect picture painted out there.

Always remember that being happy is ultimately dependent on your decisions. You have the power to live happily, exercise control over the situations and people you interact with by getting closer to the positive influences and avoiding all forms of negativity.